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Medical School Admissions Committee (MSAC)

The mission of the Medical School Admissions Committee (MSAC) is to select a class of exceptional,and mission aligned medical (MD) students who possess outstanding academic, personal, and professional attributes and hold promise to succeed as clinicians, scientists, educators, and/or leaders.  

The MSAC is the final authority by which prospective students are accepted for MD training at SMPH. The MSAC chooses which applicants to accept to the traditional MD program, Medical Scientist Training Program (MD-PhD), and Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine (WARM) through a mission-aligned review.  

There are no circumstances where the MSAC does not have final authority for admissions decision. 

The MSAC reviews and approves all procedures and policies and criteria for medical student selection at a yearly business meeting. 

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Membership

The Medical School Admissions Committee (MSAC) is composed of no less than 24 and no more than 30 members in addition to non-voting, ex-officio members.  

  • Members of the Medical School Admissions Committee are faculty, students, and community members.  
  • Faculty 
    • The majority of MSAC voting members must be faculty members. 
    • MSAC faculty members are elected by peers through a yearly election process or are appointed by the associate dean for admissions with the goal of securing a diverse group of individuals across many dimensions of experience, expertise, and career (department, faculty rank, clinical/research focus, etc.). 
    • Both appointed and elected faculty members serve staggered three-year terms with a limit of two consecutive terms and at least one year off before serving again.  
    • At least five (5) of the MSAC faculty members must be elected members 
  • Students
    • MSAC student members are UW-SMPH students elected by their peers or appointed by the associate dean of admissions and must be in good academic standing before they are appointed. Student appointments are for two semesters with the option to extend up to 3 years depending on class schedules. 
  • Community Members 
    • MSAC community members are appointed by the associate dean for admissions. These community members serve staggered three-year terms with a limit of two consecutive terms and at least one year off before serving again. Community members include academic staff from the University of Wisconsin, and intentional representation from mission aligned communities (e.g., Native American Center for Health Professions), and Wisconsin AHEC (Area Health Education Centers). 
  • Leadership 
    • The MSAC has one faculty chair and one faculty vice chair, both of whom also serve as members of the MSAC. 

Internal Bylaws

Quorum

  • Quorum is defined as 50% plus one person of the voting members present with the majorityof the voting members present being faculty. MD Admissions staff take attendance at each meeting and ensure the committee does not conduct business until quorum is met.

Committee Member Policy Attestation

  • All members are required to annually review the admissions committee policies and procedures. In addition, the admissions committee policies and procedures are available and accessible to committee members at any time.  

Conflict of Interest

  • UWSMPH Policy SMPH-8075 defines Conflicts of Interest and the academic, personal, and professional relationships which can give rise to them. It requires recusal from discussion and voting for a candidate in cases where a conflict exists or can reasonably be assumed to exist 
  • Further, policies require that a committee member with a personal relationship with any applicant will resign completely or suspend all admissions activities during the admission cycle in which the personal relation is an active applicant, regardless of whether the personal relation chooses to apply to UWSMPH. 
  • These policies are outlined to all prospective members before their formal appointment and are explained yearly to all committee and subcommittee members. All committee members must sign the “UWSMPH Conflict of Interest Agreement for SMPH Student Related Committees” yearly indicating their understanding of and compliance with these policies. 

Subcommittees

  • MSAC may delegate authority for initial assessment of candidates, selection of candidates for interview, and recommendation of candidates to the MSAC for admission to subcommittees: 
    • The Medical Science Training Program (MSTP) subcommittee performs initial assessment of candidates from the MSTP applicant pool, selection of candidates for interview from the MSTP applicant pool, and recommendations of candidates for MSTP admission to the MSAC. 
    • The Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine (WARM) subcommittee performs initial assessment of candidates from the WARM program applicant pool, selection of candidates for interview from the WARM program applicant pool, and recommendations of candidates for WARM program admission to the MSAC. 
    • The Resident Interview Selection Committee (RISC) subcommittee performs selection of candidates from the Wisconsin resident applicant pool for interview. 
    • The Nonresident Interview Selection Committee (NISC) subcommittee performs selection of candidates from the non-Wisconsin resident applicant pool for interview. 
    • Premedical Course Review Committee (PCRC) subcommittee is convened and charged by the MSAC to provide input to the MSAC regarding updates to pre-requisite courses. Premedical course requirements are reviewed and approved annually by MSAC. 
    • Ad-hoc committees 
      • The MSAC may appoint committees as deemed necessary for the completion of specific tasks. This includes determination of the committee’s charge, authority, deadlines and procedures and policies in accordance with governing policies.